TAN BAN: Lawmakers Consider Tanning Age Restriction

TAN BAN: Lawmakers Consider Tanning Age Restriction

High school proms are just a few months away, but soon Iowa teenagers might not be able to get tan for prom or any other time of year.

Lawmakers have introduced bills to ban minors to use tanning beds.

Under current laws kids as young as 14-years-old can tan as long as they have a parent’s permission and 16 and 17-year-olds are allowed to sign-in themselves.

The prospect of a ban doesn’t sit well with workers at Elite Tan & Nails who say they would lose about a third of their business if teens were no longer allowed to tan.

They also feel a ban isn’t necessary because the Iowa Department of Public Health already sets restrictions to keep tanners safe.

“As long as you follow that, I think that’s the best way to do it,” said tanning salon employee Marissa Leibold. “You don’t overexpose yourself. You don’t risk the sunburn which causes the bad reactions to it. As long as it’s a safe tan and you keep to those IDPH regulations, I think that’s the perfect thing to do.”

By state law, tanning salons have to keep detailed records to make sure customers don’t tan too often.